Finding Solitude. Day Three (3)

Finding Solitude Day Three (3): “Beloved, grace and peace be unto you, from God our Father and from the LORD Jesus Christ. Today we begin Day # 3 this is a blessing. This is an opportunity to do warfare. That is what we are doing you know. You have a goal to be what God has ordained you to be, and to go through whatever process God requires of you. Because of this, know that you have an adversary who will engage in actual warfare to prevent not only the plan of God in general, but the plan of God for you. Let’s win this fight, you and I, together we can destroy the plan of the devil and be victorious. What’s the plan? Just fast one more day. Just fast for today, tomorrow will take care of itself. Want proof, you made it through yesterday.
Today, I would like to continue to talk about prayer. Yesterday, we ask the question that the disciple asked, Lord teach us how to pray. We looked at this from the perspective of how important God is in our lives. He is that important that I want my conversation with God to be done in a manner that honors him. Today I would like for us to consider that Jesus did not only teach us how to pray by speaking to us, but he also taught us by example. Let’s consider the text:

NRSV
Matt. 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

In order to pray, Jesus actively did some things. Part of his preparation for prayer was his ability to seek solitude. Beloved this is interesting to me. There is a benefit to solitude. We know that, even in our earthly relationships, solitude helps build intimacy. Relationships are strengthened by the investment we undertake to get to know a person. Consider this, whether you are a man or woman, there is a feeling that one has as a result having that alone time with that someone special. If my time with my wife was limited to public encounters, I do not think that we would feel we had a special relationship. She would feel that she was just another person in my life, and that there was nothing that made her special in my eyes. It is that time we spend together away from every body else, that makes her special to me. She can be herself, and I can accept her honesty and despite any public perception of her, get to know her for myself. When I do that, it does not matter what other people think, what other people see, she is special to me. Guess what, if other do not know her, it does not change our relationship. In this text, Jesus sends the multitude away. Beloved do you send the multitude of your day away to invest some time with God? Not just the multitude of people, but the multitude of your day. By that I mean, that our days can get congested by a lot of stuff, that only serve the purpose of being ‘the multitude’. Yes I’ll pray, but I have to check my emails, keep my phone on just in case, the only time I have alone is on the train in the morning, I think we can do better than that for God. Jesus went up the mountain by himself to pray. Invest time with God by achieving solitude. There is a benefit to solitude. Listen, God wants you to get to know him. He wants to tell you some things, that will be just between you and Him. He wants to be special to you, and I know you want him to know that he is special to you. Find a place where no one is, and pray. The time you spend alone with God will make your relationship with him a special one. Think about it, after this, even in a crowd, you can operate in the knowledge that you and God have a special relationship.

Tonight we meet at IHP for prayer. I hope to see all of you there. Remember drink all the water you can. At least 8 to 12 glasses a day. Pray, and just fast for today.

Yours Because I am His,
Leo Colon
http://www.ihpfwc.org
leocolon.wordpress.com
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(Via .)